The Shadow King's Cat
by master of toast
Summary: Just a snapshot of Kyouya's life. Featuring an adorable cat named Shadow. More agnsty then it sounds. DISCLAIMER: NOT MINE!


ÐÏ à" á þÿ

Herrmann 20

Paige Herrmann

Baione-Doda

Creative writing 1

Wednesday October 8, 2008

The Shadow King's Pet

Kyouya walked slowly down the street. He was walking home. This in itself was a rarity, for Kyouya Ohtori was the third son of one of the richest men in all of Japan. Ordinarily he would have been sitting in a limo sipping black coffee heated to just the right temperature, but it was not an ordinary day. That day Kyouya's father, Yoshio Ohtori, was throwing a large party celebrating an important business deal that had finally been accepted, after months of work. The Ohtori family was now sitting even closer to the top of Japan's financial world.

Kyouya would have been pleased with this, had it not meant that all the limos were being used to pick up guests. He pushed his raven hair away from his glasses and trudged forward. Kyouya's phone rang loudly. He flipped it open without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello, this is Kyouya Ohtori", he said dryly.

"Mother! Thank God! Have you seen our daughter? She left before I could tell her where we're meeting tomorrow!" Tamaki's overly dramatic voice rang loudly in Kyouya's ear. He could just picture Tamaki doing puppy eyes at the phone.

"No, Daddy. I haven't. She left before me as well." Mother was Tamaki's nickname for Kyouya. Kyouya, in turn, often called Tamaki 'Daddy'. Their children were actually the other members of the host club. Because most of the hosts felt out of place in their own homes, they'd made their own family. It was a happy, and slightly crazy, little group. Kyouya sighed. "I'm sure she's fine, Tamaki," he said coldly. He was in no mood to be bothered about something of such nature. There was no merit in it.

"Hey! Hikar-" Tamaki began.

"Tono! We found her!"

Hikaru and Kaoru had taken Tamaki's phone. Kyouya heard the twins laugh.

"Never mind, Kyouya we found her," Hikaru and Kaoru said in unison.

"Good," Kyouya replied as he hung up the phone. And then PLINK! Kyouya blinked in surprise. It was raining. He thought back to earlier that morning when he'd woken up. Had it looked stormy then? He realized that it had. It suddenly began to rain harder. Kyouya took off running. He mentally cursed his father for picking such a day for a party. The rain was coming down in sheets at that point and Kyouya was coming to a stoplight. He ducked under the awning of a small stationary store and caught his breath.

"At least it's dry here," he thought.

_Mew!_

He glanced down. There was a box sitting perhaps two feet from him. He heard another pathetic sounding mew and moved to peer into the box. Inside was a small kitten. It was a small cat with black fur covering most of its body. The kitten was burying its head into the blanket. It was terrified of the storm. Kyouya reached down and plucked it from the box. It hissed with annoyance and seemed to glare at him. The fur around its eyes was white. It looked like it was wearing glasses. Kyouya's eyes widened with surprise. He glanced into the box again to look for some form of identification. He noted that inside the box there were three bowls. One was labeled Tiger, the next was labeled Snow-Killer, and the final bowl was labeled Shadow. The rest of the box was filled with blankets. He looked at the kitten.

"Shadow? Is that your name?" Kyouya said slowly. The kitten meowed in response. Kyouya scrutinized the small animal. It was too small. _Must be the runt of the litter _he thought. He stroked its head gently. The cat sat rigidly in Kyouya's hands. Kyouya realized that he was just like Shadow the kitten. Both were clearly the youngest of three boys, and both had black hair and both wore glasses – or at least appeared to wear glasses, in the kitten's case. But the similarities were far deeper than that. Shadow had obviously been the least desirable of the three cats for he had been left behind. The youngest of the children. Abandoned, in the shadows. Alone.

"Are you alone little kitten? Were you abandoned?" Kyouya whispered to the cat. It looked up at him with the most shocking grey-purple eyes Kyouya had ever seen. The resemblance between Shadow and Kyouya was almost frightening. The young kitten's eyes shone with intelligence.

_Meow. _ Shadow regarded Kyouya for a moment before relaxing. Clearly Shadow had recognized that Kyouya was just like him. Kyouya went to lower the cat back into the box; it mewed pitifully. Kyouya paused in his movement. His hand rested above the rim of the box. He couldn't take the cat home. He just couldn't. His father would kill him. Ohtori's did not have pets. And for all eternity they would never have pets. Pets were for commoners. But he couldn't just leave it there in the rain. The streets were too harsh for such an innocent creature. Kyouya had once been that innocent. He'd been carefree and happy just like Tamaki. For him fun was like a battery. He'd use it and use it until it was dead. He had fun as a small child. But when he'd gotten older and learned the full nature of his circumstances he'd been forced to grow up a lot faster. He'd used up all the fun in his life and now he was dead. _I'm emotionless and cold, just like father._ Kyouya didn't want that to happen to such a small cat. It was so vulnerable.

_Meow!_

Kyouya realized that he'd been frozen in place for some time. Shadow was still sitting in his hand. Kyouya carefully raised his hand back up. He pulled open his jacket and placed Shadow into the large inner pocket. The kitten purred loudly.

"I'll just take you home," Kyouya muttered. He glared out into the rain. It was still pouring and the light was red. He took a step towards the curb and the light turned green again. He steeled himself and walked over to the curb. He raised one arm and then the other. He tipped his head to the side imperiously. He caught the eye of an oncoming driver. Kyouya's cold glare brought the driver to a stop. The other cars followed suit and Kyouya was soon across the street. _Ah, the wonders of the Ohtori stare_. Kyouya smiled with amusement. He took off running in the direction of Ohtori Manor.

Ten minutes later he arrived at the mansion. Kyouya shivered as he knocked on the door.

"Oh! Kyouya-sama!" gasped one of the servants as she opened the door. He was drenched. Fortunately the lining of his jacket was waterproof. He knew that Shadow was probably dry.

"Excuse me," he said coldly. He waved away the servant's attempts to remove his jacket. Kyouya was suddenly very thankful that it was Friday and that he hadn't needed his backpack. He walked down the halls of the mansion quietly. He knew very well that his father would be getting ready for the party and that it was best not to disturb him.

Kyouya paused when he reached his father's study.

_Should I tell him? No, __He'd never allow it. Shadow is mine._ He continued to walk down the hall for a minute before he reached his room. He pushed open the door and strolled into his room casually. The majority of his room was devoted to a large living space. Kyouya's room was more of an apartment than anything else. The only thing it lacked was a kitchen. He glanced around the ultra-modern living room. He walked over to his desk and kneeled down. He slipped his hand into his jacket and pulled out Shadow. The kitten mewed loudly. Kyouya stroked its head gently. Its raven-colored fur was slightly damp.

"I'll get you a towel," He said quietly and then as an afterthought, he said, "And some food."

He placed Shadow on his desk. He went over to his bathroom and glanced at the towels. They were clean and fresh. _The maid must have been here today_. He grabbed a fresh towel off the stack and went back into the main room. Shadow wasn't on the desk. Kyouya glanced around nervously and spied Shadow trying to climb into a pair of his shoes. He reached over and picked Shadow up. The small kitten fit in the palm of his hand. He placed Shadow onto the desk and switched on his laptop. After a few minutes of poking around google he knew what he needed to do_. He weighs about one pound... since he's most likely the runt that means he'd be on the small side. That puts him at about... seven weeks old. Which is old enough for some solid foods_. He sat down at his desk and began to dry off Shadow.

_Prrr...Prr..._

Shadow was purring again. Kyouya stayed there petting his new comrade for some time. There was something comforting about having a cat purring sitting on his knee. After a few minutes had passed, he put Shadow down again and went over to a small metal box on his wall. He pressed the call button.

"Bring me some milk and some fish. Now." He waited for an answer.

"Right away, Kyouya-sama!" squeaked one of the servants. Kyouya went back to his desk and resumed petting his cat. After a few minutes the food he'd requested was brought up. He thanked the servant curtly and turned back to Shadow.

"Come here, Shadow," he said firmly. Remarkably enough, Shadow came and plopped down and Kyouya's feet. Kyouya knelt down and offered him the fish. Shadow bit into it warily. _Prrrr..._

Shadow liked it. Kyouya walked over to his dresser and grabbed an empty Altoid's container. He poured the milk into it and placed it in front of Shadow.

"I need to get ready for the party," Kyouya mumbled. He looked at Shadow. _I need to find a way to keep him in one place._ He looked around his room in search of something that he could use as a cage. His eyes found the bookcase. He stalked over and grabbed a pile of medical textbooks. Within two minutes a small enclosure was erected.

"Stay here, Shadow," he ordered as he slipped into the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later Kyouya was staring at his reflection in the mirror. His plain business suit was stiff and uncomfortable. He thought that he had gotten used to wearing horribly uncomfortable clothes but this suit was just ridiculous. He considered changing his clothes but thought better of it. He was part of a set. He had to look like it. He needed to be an asset to his family not a hindrance. He glared at his reflection. He looked just like his father. They had the same eyes and the same raven hair. They had the same sharp features. Kyouya pushed his glasses further up his nose. They glinted ominously. He practiced his smile. His lips curved upwards but his eyes still looked dead. He tried again and showed his teeth this time, but once again the smile never reached his eyes. He tilted his head this time. The glare on his glasses obscured his eyes. He smiled. This time he looked right. It didn't matter that his eyes were dead; no one could see anyway. He turned on his heel and walked out into his main room again. What he saw there surprised him. His older sister, Fyumi, was kneeling on the floor playing with Shadow. Her black hair was flowing down in front of her and Shadow was batting at it with his paws.

"Fyumi-neesan, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be in London with your husband," he said dryly. Fyumi looked up at him with warm eyes.

"Kyouya!" She was on her feet in seconds. She threw her arms around him. "I missed you!"

"Oneesan, what are you doing here?" He pried her hands off his shoulders and took a step back.

"I came for the party," she explained. "I haven't seen you in months. Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Of course, I am. It's nice to see you. You look wonderful." He tipped his head and the glare of his glasses obscured his eyes. He really was happy to see her but he was worried about her saying something about Shadow.

"Anyway, Kyouya-kun when did you get a cat?" she asked innocently. Kyouya didn't dare move. If he moved even a centimeter the glare would be gone from his glasses and she would see his panic.

"Recently," he replied.

"I thought Father hates cats," she said. She tipped her head sideways and her eyes widened. "...he doesn't know, does he?"

"Father has no idea. And you will not tell him." His voice was harsh and rough. Fyumi scooped Shadow into her arms.

"I won't say anything," she told him simply. Then she smiled. _I think this will be good for him. He needs something to take care of. And having a pet will help him learn to take care of himself._

"You grew. You'll be taller than Father soon," she said patronizingly. Fyumi was always acting motherly. Usually it got on Kyouya's nerves but deep down he felt it was nice to have someone care about him. He looked down from his height of five-foot-ten-inches.

"I know," he said with a smirk. He looked at his watch. "It's six. We need to go down to the dining hall."

"Did I tell you that Father let me help with the decorations?"

"Oh, Fabulous."

Kyouya glanced around the spacious dining room of Ohtori Manor. The enormous room was surrounded on four sides with pillars and every window was covered by a velvet curtain. Kyouya was instantly brought back to his childhood, back when he would run and slide around in his socks. He remembered the feeling of his feet sliding across the marble floor. He glanced around and saw the security cameras built against every nook and cranny. He knew that somewhere in the mansion no less than five expertly trained security guards were watching his every move on a monitor. He turned his eyes to the sparkling decorations. He could tell immediately that his sister had decorated. The abundance of sparkles was suffocating him. Fyumi stood beside him.

"Fyumi-neesan, you need to go socialize," he said softly. Fyumi took that as her cue to leave. She flitted over to one of the various businessmen. He made his way across the room slowly. Behind the glare of his glasses his mind was racing a mile a minute as he calculated the benefits of speaking to each person.

Kyouya spent an hour speaking with the various party goers. He had grown bored long ago, but his desire – no, his need – to be perfect drove him to speak with almost everyone in the hall. Kyouya found himself wishing that he was in Shadow's place. He mused that it was cats who really had the good life. They had everything they could ever want at their paws. All they needed to do was meow and the object of their desire was in front of them. He was yanked back into the real world by Fyumi calling his name.

"Kyouya-kun, Father wants you," she said simply. Fyumi's expression was carefully blank. But her eyes sent a clear message: "Be careful."

"Does he now? Well, Onee-san, I'd best be going then," Kyouya replied coldly. He nodded once in her direction and walked towards his father.

"Ahh, perfect timing. Gentlemen, this is my youngest son, Kyouya," Yoshio Ohtori said. His voice was devoid of all emotion. He might as well have been talking about a piece of fruit.

"Fyumi told me you wanted me. Is this true, Otousan?" Kyouya said carefully.

"Oh, your father was just telling us about your classes in school, Kyouya-kun," said one portly man.

"Yes, indeed he was," agreed another man. Kyouya let the glare of his glasses hide his eyes as he smiled the way he'd previously practiced. He began to speak about his school. He told the men how he was taking business classes as electives. He touched on the fact that he was excited about supporting his brothers in the future. He talked about how happy he was and how he was grateful for being allowed to attend such festivities. Basically, he lied. About halfway through the conversation Kyouya's father excused himself and left to speak with a politician._ Clearly he is the epitome of the supportive father. _

"Your brothers are very lucky to have you, Kyouya-san," said the portly man. The other man nodded in agreement.

"I suppose they are. Thank you," Kyouya replied stoically.

"All of the Ohtori children are such gems. Your older brothers are so young but already so successful. And your sister seems quite happy with her husband. And you, Kyouya-san, are so flawless in everything you do and you're still a high school student," said one of the men.

"Thank you. I will pass on your praise. I'm sure my siblings will be pleased to hear your compliments," Kyouya said softly. He smiled but his eyes stayed frozen behind the glare of his glasses. He needed to get out of there. His lies were killing him.

"Now, if you'll be so kind as to excuse me. I need to attend to the other guests as well. Give my fondest regards to your families," Kyouya said. He turned and walked away. He found himself leaning against the wall sipping punch. He glanced across the room. He watched as a young man and woman spoke. The man was leaning casually against one of the drink tables. Next to his arm was the woman's purse. He watched as the man, Shingi Nagano, shifted strategically and the purse fell from the table. The women, Naomi Shizuka, put her drink down on the table and bent down to pick up her purse. Kyouya watched as the man reached over her glass and dropped something into it. The drink fizzled for a second but the woman didn't notice. She went to pick up her glass.

Kyouya knew he needed to do something. He dropped his glass and it shattered into a million pieces. He took off at full speed.

"Shizuka-san! Don't drink that!" He called. The woman looked over to him in surprise. Kyouya stood with his head high and his shoulders back. He stared coldly at the drink in her hands.

"Nagano-san spiked your drink when you went to grab your purse," Kyouya explained. The woman nearly dropped her drink. She was speechless with surprise. Kyouya reached over and took the drink from her hands. _If the drink is alcoholic I won't be able to prove anything because the alcohol will make him stumble._

"Does this drink have alcohol in it?" he asked. The woman shook her head nervously. _It has no alcohol in it. If he drinks it then acts in a peculiar manner that means he spiked the drink._ His mind raced faster and faster with each second. Kyouya turned to the man who was pale with rage and fear.

"Admit you spiked her drink."

"I didn't spike her drink," the man said calmly.

Kyouya raised an eyebrow. Yoshio Ohtori slipped into the crowd and watched his son's actions carefully.

"Oh really?" Kyouya said threateningly. He smiled evilly and his glasses glinted. "Then I'm sure you wouldn't mind drinking it to prove the truth of your words."

The man glared at him and snatched the glass from Kyouya's hand. He raised it to his lips and drowned it in two gulps. Kyouya watched as the man's pupils dilated. The man's breathing quickened and his face flushed.

"There," the man slurred, "no problems here."

Kyouya went right up in the man's face. He was about four inches shorter than Nagano. Kyouya held up four fingers.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"...two."

"I'm holding up four fingers." Kyouya proceeded to spin the man around once and ordered him to walk a straight line. The man veered dangerously to the right, stumbled, and fell onto his knees.

"All right, All right, I spiked her drink," the man grunted. He glared murderously at Kyouya. A chair was brought for the man. Kyouya bade the man to sit.

"Whether or not charges will be pressed is up to Miss Shizuka. For now I'll have a car take you back to your home," he said. There was an unmistakable sound of authority in his voice. Kyouya spent another hour or so calming the woman down. He knew she was feeling better again when she began to prattle on about how hard it was to find good dressmakers. He excused himself soon after that.

Kyouya was exhausted at that point. It was nearly eleven-thirty at night and he'd only gotten a few hours of sleep the previous night. He grabbed drink from the table and retired to a chair near one of the windows. He reached up and loosened his tie. He sat back in his chair and shut his eyes. He was so tired but he couldn't go sleep. Not during the party. He forced his eyes to open and took another sip of his drink. He stared down into it. The pale light cast off by reflections on the glass mesmerized him. He stayed like that for a few minutes. He was so absorbed by his own thoughts that he never heard the footsteps coming towards him.

"Kyouya," his father said quietly. Kyouya's head snapped up.

"Yes, Father?" he said promptly. He tried to make his glasses glare but his father's shadow blocked the light he needed.

"Good job, back there. You acted appropriately and quickly based on the situation. And you calmed down Shizuka very nicely. That was impressive," Yoshio Ohtori said slowly.

Kyouya couldn't hide the glint of happiness in his eyes. "Thank you, Otousan. I only did what I felt was necessary," he said carefully. "Shizuka behaves the way all of my customers at the host club behave. It wasn't hard." Kyouya immediately realized his mistake. The host club was a taboo in Ohtori Manor. His father's lips became a hard line. His glasses glinted. The very air seemed to chill. Kyouya shivered unconsciously.

"You will not speak of that ridiculous club in this house," Kyouya's father said. There was a dark edge in his voice.

"Yes, Father," Kyouya replied coldly. His eyes portrayed a nervousness that was so unlike him it was almost shocking. He wished that his glasses would obscure his eyes.

"Good." Yoshio Ohtori turned and walked away. He was going back upstairs to his study for the remainder of the party. Kyouya could finally hide using his glasses. He forced his glasses to glare.

_Well, that went horribly. I don't think I could have said anything stupider. _The corner of his eye twitched. He shook his head and stood up. "Now is not the time to get emotional. Calm down." Kyouya took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Kyouya-kun?"

"Fyumi-neesan?" Kyouya looked over to where his sister was standing. "You should go to bed. It's really late."

"This party is more important than my sleep schedule."

Kyouya ended up being there for the entire party. He spoke with every guest at least once and he made some important business connections. It was nearly two a.m. when the party ended. Kyouya muttered a few good nights at various guests and trudged up to his room. He once again hesitated at his father's study.

Shadow returned to the front of Kyouya's mind. _It would be suicide to tell father about Shadow now. I'll just keep things to myself for now_. He continued walking until he reached his room. He threw open the door and walked over to his bed. He flopped down and laid there for a few minutes.

"Shadow," he muttered. He sat up and glanced around. He didn't see Shadow anywhere. "Shadow?"

He looked over to the cage he'd made for Shadow. One of the books had been knocked over. Kyouya's face paled. He leapt to his feet. Kyouya's eyes darted around behind his glasses.

"Shadow?" He called. Kyouya thought back to when he'd entered the room. 'Was Shadow there when I got back?' He pushed his glasses further up his nose and glared at the floor.

"Shadow must have escaped while I was at the party... that means that I need to go to..." Kyouya's voice trailed off into nothingness. He took off at full speed. His feet were nothing more than blurs as he ran down the hallway. When he got near his father's study he forced himself to walk. If his father heard him running around; things would not end well. As soon as he was out of earshot he started running again. He dashed down hallway after hallway, stairway after stairway, until he finally reached the video monitor room. He pushed the door open with such ferocity that when it smashed against the wall the glass cracked. He brushed past the security guards and stared at the monitors.

"Kyo-" Began one shellshocked looking guard.

"Quiet!" Kyouya barked. His eyes brushed across every monitor until there was only one left unchecked, the camera in his fathers study.

Kyouya took a deep breath. His eyes closed and he wished wholeheartedly that Shadow was safe in his room. His eyes opened slowly and focused on the monitor. Shadow was sitting on his fathers desk batting at the computer monitor. Yoshio Ohtori sat stoically behind the desk with an emotionless face.

Kyouya let loose a string of profanities. He turned around and marched towards the door. He grabbed its knob and slammed the door so hard that the glass shattered behind him. The guards just stared after him with puzzled expressions. Kyouya forced himself to take deep calming breaths as he walked towards his father's study. His mantra ran through his head, just as it always did when something went wrong. _I am an Ohtori. I am an Ohtori and Ohtori's show no fear. Ohtori's show no emotion. I am an Ohtori and I am not effected by this situation._ Again and again it ran through his head. He knew he needed to get Shadow. He knew he needed to be prepared.

But his mantra just wasn't helping him. It never did. And in that second he realized something about himself. He realized he wasn't seeing himself as Kyouya. He was seeing himself as Kyouya _Ohtori._ _I am Kyouya. I am intelligent and determined. I am not afraid to face my fate. I am strong._

Kyouya was at the door to his father's study. His eyes closed for just a fraction of a second before he pushed the door open.

"What seems to be the problem Kyouya?" Yoshio Ohtori said cheerfully. Kyouya repressed the urge to shudder. He knew his father was going to degrade him as much as possible. 'Just what I needed! Being interrogated at two am!' he thought.

"There seems to be an animal on the loose in your study otousan." Kyouya replied carefully. He forced his glasses to glare and cover his eyes.

"Where did such a creature come from Kyouya?" Shadow hopped off the desk and trotted over to Kyouya. He rubbed his head against Kyouya's legs and purred. Kyouya wanted to drop dead right there.

"The streets."

"And how did it get in?"

"I brought it in Father."

"Why did you bring a stray animal home?"

"I didn't want it to die."

"Ahh... so that's you explanation as to why there's a cat in my study?"

"Shad- _It_ wasn't supposed to get out."

"What was that you were about to say? Shadow? Is that the name of this flea infested beast?"

"Shadow doesn't have fleas."

"So that is it's name then?"

"Yes Father." Yoshio Ohtori stood and walked over to where his son was standing. He leaned right up in Kyouya's face. The shadow removed the glare from both men's glasses. Kyouya found himself staring into deep pools of liquid darkness. His own eyes betrayed his feelings by looking helpless. He pleaded silently for Shadow's safety.

"You are an Ohtori. You will never have a pet. I want you to take this creature to an animal shelter tomorrow and get rid of it." His father hissed. Kyouya didn't break eye contact. His eyes hardened. They were cold and dead.

"Yes Father." He said coldly. Shadow mewed loudly and rubbed his head against Kyouya's leg. Kyouya bent down and scooped up his cat. "I will do as you ask. Tomorrow Shadow will be placed in an animal shelter."

That night Kyouya didn't even bother to just change his clothes. He just placed his glasses on his nightstand and laid back. Shadow crept up beside the bed and mewed quietly. Kyouya reached down and scooped him up.

"You should have stayed out of father's study, Shadow." He whispered. Shadow hopped onto Kyouya's chest and sat down.

_Prrrr….._

Shadow was happy. He was so innocent. Kyouya knew that a small kitten like Shadow would be adopted after just a few days, but still he was worried. Kyouya was not one to be scared by his own imagination but various situations, all of them gruesome and terrible, ran through his head like a never ending horror movie. He looked at Shadow. 'No. Don't think such horrible things. Shadow will be fine.' Gradually Kyouya managed to relax by watching Shadow breath. The kitten's presence was so soothing to him. He fell asleep after just a few seconds.

That morning Kyouya woke up at nine am, which was surprisingly early for him, and got dressed quietly. 'I don't want to do this. Shadow is mine. But I have to. I have to let Shadow go, Father's orders.' He thought. Kyouya grabbed his glasses off the night stand and slipped them on. His eyes were covered again. He could hide. He ran a hand through his hair.

...

"_Kyouya... you're very intelligent. I'm sure you'll be able to accomplish everything asked of you." Fyumi said slowly, "But... do you enjoy that?" _

_Kyouya turned around in his seat and looked at her. His eyes were cold and dead. He looked away and a sad expression graced his features._

"_It's not an issue whether I enjoy it or not."_

_..._

He sighed as he remembered the day his sister had asked him that.

"No," He said softly, "I didn't enjoy that. But I will be better than my brothers. And that takes sacrifices."

He grabbed any empty shoebox from his closet and lined it with an old cashmere sweater. He pulled a hundred dollar bill from his wallet and put it inside as well. He placed Shadow's sleeping form in the box and walked to the door of his room. A few minutes later he was standing at the door with Shadow. He handed the box to one of his servants and squeezed his eyes closed. If you didn't know him you'd never be able to tell that he was upset.

"Take him to the shelter. The hundred is to ensure that he is given a home soon." He said dryly. Just then Shadow woke up. He mewed loudly. Kyouya bit his tongue as hard as he could and walked away. He didn't stop walking until he was outside in the rose garden. He sat down on a stone bench and put his head in his hands. He felt like he was abandoning Shadow. Kyouya thought about how he would feel in Shadows place, cast aside for one minute, loved the next, then cast away again. Kyouya realized that he was already in that situation. He realized that love for him was nothing more that a reward for outstanding performance. He thought about how his father only used him as a device for the betterment of the family and how his siblings were only thought of as competition. He sat up and tore the glasses from his face. They were the trademark of the Ohtori family and he didn't want any part of it. Maybe he was being childish but he just couldn't put them on again for the entire day. He went through his routine with his head high, bearing his eyes for the world to see. _Let them see how dead I am inside!_ He didn't eat dinner. He just stayed locked away, working hard as always. It was late that night when he heard a knock at his door. He stood and walked over with a scowl plastered on his face.

"Your father wants to see you." Was all the servant said. Kyouya was instantly brought back to normal. His father was more important than his childish temper tantrum. He pulled his glasses form his pocket and went straight to his father's study. He pushed open the door and froze with shock at what he saw. Shadow was back. He was perched on his father's desk batting at the screensaver on the computer.

"Shadow." He breathed. He looked up at his father. "Why is he back?"

Yoshio Ohtori's eyes were hidden by the glare on his glasses. "A rival company's sales increased today. They have a mascot of a dog. Now this cat is our company's mascot."

Kyouya didn't show emotion. He didn't run and jump and laugh and cheer. These were not things Ohtori's did. But he showed emotion the only way he could. He smiled, just a bit, and this time it reached his eyes.


End file.
